Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I say to the member for McMahon: there are no concessions because we believe in transparency. Do you know what? Transparency is foreign to the Labor Party. In the last term of government the Labor Party spent so much time knifing each other in the back that they forgot to run the country. So the debt and deficit blew out and now the Greens are saying to us, 'We recognise that someone needs to accept responsibility for this. We are prepared, in good faith, to help you address the problems that Labor left behind.' So, if the Greens are prepared to be reasonable on a budgetary matter, I am prepared to accept that. Everyone is entitled to a cathartic change in attitude. I welcome that. They are fantastic. I say to the member for McMahon: you left us with your problems; do not stop us from fixing them.

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